There were emotional scenes at Whyteleafe FC's ground on Friday night (November 10) as their under 18s dedicated a win to a teammate who was stabbed to death.

Aren Mali died at the scene after being stabbed in Croydon on October 29.

The 17-year-old central midfielder previously played in the youth team at Leatherhead FC .

Fans and members of Aren's family sang "we love you Aren, we do, oh Aren we love you" during the match at the ground in Church Road.

On their Twitter page, the club described the singing as a "lovely touch from family, friends and supporters of Aren".

The game started at 7.30pm with a minute's applause for Aren, which was followed by a comfortable 5-1 win to Whyteleafe .

Tickets were £3 with all money made being donated to the Aren Mali fund, that was set up to help fund the teenager’s funeral and pay for tributes.

Darren Kenny, manager for the under 18s, said: "The game was our first competitive match since Aren's passing so we wanted to do something in his memory, so we had a minute's applause before the game and had a banner made up in his name to celebrate his life, that was taken away at a very young age.

Whyteleafe players met Aren's family after the match

"Aren's family came down last night to watch the match and we also donated the funds from the tickets for a plaque to be made in Croydon as part of his memorial fund.

"We will be doing a memorial game in time with Leatherhead, his other old team."

Aren joined Whyteleafe Football Club in 2016 and helped the under 18s win the Kent Youth League Cup.

Charlie Bickell, manager of the ladies side, who attended the match, described it:

Whyteleafe coaches have previously paid tribute to the young central midfielder who they described as talented, confident, driven and “"a strong character, not scared to voice his opinion, but also prepared to work hard for his peers".

The 17-year-old from Kenley was stabbed to death outside Next on North End in Croydon town centre at 7pm on Sunday, October 29.